On Capitol Hill and on social networks, clout is a different beast

6:27 PM,
Aug. 21, 2013

The range of social media savvy among Wisconsin's representatives in Washington, D.C., is broad. Sen. Ron Johnson, shown here speaking to a high school class in Oak Creek in 2012, has a Klout score of 80, a measure of social media influence that tops out at 99. That exceeds the Senate average of 71. In contrast, Rep. Tom Petri maintains no social media presence and has a Klout score of zero.

Written by

Donovan Slack
USA Today

Would you watch a video of Rep. Tom Petri driving a pedicab? How about Rep. Sean Duffy eating beef jerky? Or maybe Rep. Gwen Moore refuting assertions by Stephen Colbert that she got her congressional seat through affirmative action?

Thousands of people actually did. As more and more people are logging on to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation are becoming more and more savvy at reaching them there.

To be sure, they have a ways to go. Their average Klout score - a measurement of social media influence - is 59 on a scale of 1 to 100. (President Barack ...